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IRRITABLE HOLIDAY SYNDROME

Tense, critical, annoying – family and friends can be a major cause of holiday upsets. We asked psychologists for strategies to deal with those difficult companions, to ensure you come home healthy and refreshed

OUR GUIDE TO TRAVELLING WITHOUT TENSIONS

WORDS: LEAH HARDY. PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES, ISTOCK

Never again…

HOLIDAYS ARE GREAT, aren’t they? You finally get the break from work you’ve been yearning for, you get to go somewhere beautiful and – best of all – you spend quality time with your partner, your family or friends. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty, it seems…

According to ATOL, the holiday protection scheme, a family of four will spend an average of £3,133 on their summer holiday. Yet a wealth of studies show that we generally feel happier looking forward to our break than we do after we get home. How can this be?

Behavioural psychologist Jo Hemmings says, ‘We have high expectations of holidays, but spending concentrated periods of time with other people may reveal parts of their personality we find difficult to handle.’ It doesn’t have to be this way, though – from sulky teens to skinflint friends, we reveal how to tackle the saboteurs.

About Healthy Food Guide

NEW SIZE, NEW LOOK, NEW IDEAS, in August's Healthy Food Guide! Look good and feel younger with our affordable anti-wrinkle remedies that work, get hot legs with Joe Wicks' easy exercises – plus lean Med-style dishes, and get svelte with our summer diet plan, packed with delicious recipes, all under 500 calories. Plus - how to deal with travel tensions, diet tips to boost energy and the latest advice on lowering your dementia risk, all in this month's brand new-look issue, available now.